Often times, persons owning or desiring to use small personal watercraft, such as kayaks and canoes, will need to transport the watercraft via an automobile or other type of vehicle. Generally, the interiors of some vehicles do not have sufficient size to accommodate such watercraft. Accordingly, there have been many efforts directed towards providing a mounting rack on the exterior of the vehicle which can accommodate such watercraft. Ordinary cartop carriers have been used in some instances, but such devices can be heavy and awkward to install, and cannot be, or are not easily, adjustable so as to accommodate watercraft of different sizes. Additionally, many such carriers are only capable of accommodating a single kayak or canoe and cannot be reconfigured to transport multiple watercraft at the same time.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a watercraft carrier that can be mounted to a vehicle and is capable of being easily adjusted to accommodate small personal watercraft of different sizes or multiple watercraft simultaneously. There is an additional need that such a carrier have a configuration that allows for the watercraft to be affixed in an efficient manner and without undue effort, and that is of a lightweight yet durable design so as to enable a user to easily affix and detach the carrier to a vehicle, but also be able to withstand harsh treatment associated outdoor use.